Human
by Hyper V
Summary: Cameron has been stuck in one of the labs for as long as she remember. She doesn't know what's what and who she is, sitting in silence all her life as people treat her like a test subject. And she doens't know why. All that changes when she meats a stubborn blond and a friendly suit of armor. Will they be able to save her? Better yet, can they tell her who she really is?
1. Found

**God! For the past few days I've been living in my room typing things up and being a lazy bum. Summer can do that to me, especially when it's 100 degrees outside and my mom won't take me to the book store. So, I've been living off of cereal, small cans of Spaghetti O's, and lettuce wraps for dinner. So now I ach all over and my eyes are sore, but I won't give up my writing! I won't! I'm determined to write all I can this summer no matter what! Oh, and I have camp and stuff for the last month and a half of summer, so I won't be able to post as often as I do. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze some time in there! **

**Anyway, here's the promised Chimera Fic that I said I would post this week to all of my **_**Can't Breath**_** readers. So here you have it! **_**Human**_** is now here! Now, it won't say it until much later, but Cameron is a black cat. **

**Have fun and enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or the manga, which is what this is based off of. It is all owned, except for Cameron, by Hiromu Arakawa! YEAH! I finally remembered her name! Go Blaise! **

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Cameron shifted in her bed, her body now arched in a "C" like position as she wheezed out a timid cough, almost as if she were breathing it out. Her ears flicked with every sound in the room from the loudest howls to the smallest footsteps of a mouse. Her tail lay almost completely limp, only the tip flicking with boredom and tiredness, thumping on the ground softly.

It was almost like hell in here, a deep fiery hell with no end, only a beginning. But the beginning of this life was also hell. Ever since she could remember, Cameron had lived in this very cage. She hadn't a clue what it was like on the outside world. But really, all she wanted to do was get out and see it. All she wanted was to be free from the people she called her "masters", for really all they did was treat her like test subjects, calling her "almost perfect", whatever the hell that meant.

Another wheezed out breath, which she thought was pretty damn close to a sigh as she would ever get, and then her ears twitched, flipping over to the sound of a door unlocking to her right. Then in came the sound of her masters, which were almost recognizable because all they ever wore were boots and blue outfits, some wearing long white coats.

She scuttled to the side of the cage, the white gown made of thin cloth shifted, making a swish sound as she neared the bars. She needed to see what was going on.

The gown was given to her every time she outgrew the old one, so about every three years. Right now it was worn out completely and she was lucky they gave her underwear too, for she would have been doomed at that moment.

There was one man coming in the door and he was with a . . . suit of armor? Did Cameron's ears deceive her? Who in this messed up world would wear armor?

The people didn't seem like anything close to her "masters" from the lab, considering they weren't wearing those blue outfits or long white coats. But then how could they get in? Cam had heard once that only the people in blue and white could get in and out, no civilians were supposed to come into this lab.

But that didn't matter at the moment, what mattered was that this was her chance to get out.

"Please, sir," she begged as she stuck one pale hand between the bars, letting it hang limp there, "please let me out."

Being that she was the only one of her kind that could talk – at least, that was what she heard, but she didn't know what to believe anymore – she was at a great advantage of getting to voice her thoughts whereas the rest of "her kind" as they put it only growled and complained in different ways.

Her talking, though, must have stunned the visitor. This was only for a second though as he and his metal companion walked over to the small cage, leaning down to look inside.

She backed up a bit. Friendly as she was, Cameron was still wary of these new visitors, not to mention shy.

"Can you please let me out, sir?" she asked again, her eyes almost all black as she looked through the darkness. "I would be forever grateful toward you."

The boy seemed wary for a while before nodding, a look of sympathy in his bright golden eyes. And without another word muttered, he opened the cage for her, stepping to the side with the door.

The cage was very small, only about 4ft in height, width, and length. Cameron could barely get comfortable, but her body allowed her to fit into the strangest of places, which came in handy when in there.

Once the door was fully opened, Cam stepped out, one foot placed on the ground as she steadied her unused legs by placing her hands on the small doorframe.

In no time at all, she was fully out of the cage and stretching her stiff muscles, something she wasn't able to do in a while. Her tail gave a good stretch as well before curling up and flopping back to normal. Her ears flattened to her head and then flicked forward as she leaned on the crate for her support.

The two people, Cam noticed, were staring at her in awe as she did this and then again when she spoke, saying, "Thank you very much, sir! Now, would you mind taking me to your master so that I may question them?"

Cam's voice was an odd form of a purr, drifting off of her tongue in a slight rumble as a noise was made in the back of her throat. Her ears and tail both twitched happily with her words.

Finally, the shock was gone from the blond boy's face and was replaced by determination. Then he spoke in a strangely calm voice, "Alright, but you can't go like that."

With this said, the boy gestured to Cam's gown with both of his hands. She looked down self-consciously at her mid-thigh, short sleeved test-like dress outfit that was white. In addition, she wore nothing on her feet, but Cameron didn't mind.

She looked back up to the metal armor this time and listened quietly for a second.

"You're hollow," she concluded in her tiny voice as she walked over to him. If armor had a face, this one's would have been a face of shock. "Can you carry me outside and to your master?"

The armor turned his helmet to the blond as if asking permission. There was a slight nod in return and the armor proceeded to open his breast plate.

Once fully open, Cam wasted no time in hopping inside of the armor. She jostled it a bit as she got herself comfortable, but smiled afterward to the blond. She was curled up in a ball, sideways, her tail wrapped around her frame.

"Ok," she announced, "you can close it."

With that said, the plate was back on, strapped in place and they were moving along. It was a bit bumpy as she rode inside of the empty armor, but Cameron was just grateful to get outside without any of her "masters" knowing. What puzzled her though was how the boy and the armor got into the lab and passed all of the people in blue and white without being questioned or tackled to the ground. Although, being in the armor, she couldn't see out, so she had no way of finding out the answer to this.

It was a couple more minutes until the armor stopped and Cameron heard the breast plate being taken off. Before she knew it, Cam was stumbling out of the armor. When she stood back up, the blond boy was standing in front of her, his arms crossed and a stern look on his face.

"Start talking," the blond said, making Cam flinch ever so slightly and her ears to go back a bit, her tail flicking slightly. "How did you get in the lab?"

"What Brother means to say is," the armor started slowly, "what's your name? We would like to know more about you."

"My name," Cameron started slowly, looking up in a thinking position before she remembered, "my name is Cameron. At least, that's what my masters told me when I was little. I have been living there ever since I can remember, not being able to go outside or play with anyone. They said it was for my own protection."

She smiled despite her story and looked at the two people in the room. The blond looked slightly confused and the armor looked neutral. But, of course, you would expect nothing less from armor.

"But how did you become a chimera?" the blond asked and Cameron look extremely puzzled at him.

"A chim-er-a?" Cam questioned slowly, pronouncing every syllable of the word. "What's that?"

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**Remember to review and give me feedback! This is only my second FMA fanfic! And if you haven't read it already, please read my FMA fic **_**Can't Breath**_**, I will love you forever if you do! **


	2. Chimera's Contentment

**I probably had more fun than I should have had writing this chapter. It was pretty easy to do, since I had written out most of the second part in advance on my iPod and then typed the rest. It's such a pain to transfer a whole chapter from paper to the computer. **

**Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews! Both of you! I really like them! I hope I get more reviews on this one! Enjoy this chapter!**

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Shocked sounds and faces were all around, and Cameron didn't know why. A _chimera_, what was that? She certainly had no idea, but maybe it had something to do with why her "masters" called her "perfect." Maybe these boys could tell her what was up. Maybe they could help her . . .

What? Help her with _what_? It was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't get it out. She knew something, she just didn't know what she knew. Forever and a lifetime, she had a feeling that she knew what was going on but just didn't remember all of it.

It's strange, she thought idly, that I feel I know more than I'm letting on. But she pushed that away quickly and focused on the current situation of finding out things right now from these boys.

Ignoring the silence and a shocked face from the blond, Cameron said, "First thing, please tell me your name. I told you yours, and don't alchemists go by the law of Equivalent Exchange?"

She didn't know how she knew that, but she just did. She hadn't even seen or heard an alchemist before, hardly even knew they existed, but for some odd reason, she figured that these people were alchemists because of the armor boy and the fact that the blond kid had two metal limbs. And yes, she could tell just by the way he walked and sounded. The squeaking of the metal was something she would have to get used to, but Cam didn't mind.

"Wait," the blond started stiffly, "how did you know we were alchemists?"

"I guessed," Cameron replied cheerily, going over to sit politely on the couch in the room with her hands in her lap. "And I think I also guessed because your brother is no more than a suit of armor. I don't know how I know this, I just do. It seems that I know more than I was told."

The boy stared at her skeptically for a while before sighing. "My name's Edward Elric and this is my younger brother, Alphonse."

"Hm," Cameron mused, ears flicking playfully, "I like those names." Then, more to herself, she said, "Ed and Al. I could get used to it." She turned back over to her hosts now and smiled shyly. "May I ask what you were doing in the fourth laboratory? I heard that it was only restricted to special people."

Edward thought this over for a second. He was probably contemplating on telling her or not, Cameron mused, her eyes still wide and playful. Finally, Edward spoke, "Well, you see, I'm a state alchemist, which means I'm with the military, and I was there for some research on something, but I ended up finding the chimera lab instead, and that's where you came in."

When he spoke, it was slow, and something about the way he said it sounded like he was hesitant on telling her. And then Cameron though, military men are the people in the blue, Shouldn't she have been afraid of this boy? But there was something about him that told her, no, she shouldn't be afraid and that she should trust her with all her might.

"Ok!" she smiled happily, stifling a yawn, one that made her jaw almost come off its hinges and show her sharp canine teeth as well. "But I think I need a nap first."

"Alright," Alphonse said, "and then maybe tomorrow we can go out and find you some proper clothes. Maybe even a hat if you're going to be heading off."

"No, no," Cameron sighed, her eyes drooping a bit, "I think I like it here better. Do you mind if I stay with you? Until, you know, I can figure out all of the knots in my life, and then I will move on. I promise I will be no burden to you. All I want now is a home to stay in and to be warm."

She coughed a bit, letting it out in a wheeze of a breath and curled up on the couch she was sitting on.

The last thing she remembered was purring as she fell asleep.

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When she was in the lab, her masters had only fed her half of some sort of unnamed animal, but Cameron didn't mind. She rather liked the taste of fresh, mystery meat and of the blood oozing out of the carcass. Most people would say it was disguising, but Cam thought otherwise.

Right now, she was found herself biting at her bottom lip, tearing tiny pieces of flesh. But it was only to taste the blood, not because she was hungry. Edward and Alphonse had fed her cooked food, which she had looked at questioningly and tasted tentatively, only taking small bites to try it.

Eventually, she was finished with the cooked foods – she had refused the greens, because they didn't appeal to her – and headed off to the next room to curl up on the couch beside Al, who was content to let her lay next to him.

It was a routine over the past few days that Cameron had gotten used to.

Ed and Al would go out to do work for the day while she slept and rummaged through the fridge. Then Ed would come home with dinner and they would eat. After dinner was over, Cam curled herself up on the couch and contentedly let Alphonse pet her as she purred the whole time.

Finally, after Edward and Alphonse were done discussing things that were pointless to her, Cam would fall asleep next to Alphonse, happily dreaming of chasing mice and other small things.

The routine was nice and steady until the day they had to leave on a train. Bad news was that they had no way of taking her with them if she had her ears and tail.

The problem was quickly solved when Ed finally came home with Alphonse one day, a package of something in Al's arms and a larger package on top.

"What's that?" Cameron asked curiously as her tail swished back and forth, black ears pricking upward.

"It's clothes we got for you and a sunhat you can wear when we travel," Alphonse answered, a grin evident when he spoke.

Cameron jumped up, happily clapping her hands as she took the package and happily tore into it, taking out a long white dress with no sleeves with a brown belt to tie at the waist. It was about a little lower than knee length and she squealed in excitement, practically flying to the bathroom to try it on.

When she got the ruffled white dress on, her tail stuck out at the end, the black as evident as her ears were. She had figured that was what the belt was for. It was a thick brown leather belt with a fancy buckle and it was pretty, going nicely with the ruffled dress. She ticked her tail around her waist, trying her hardest to make it stay there, and put the belt on over it, tying it nice and tight, a large portion of the belt hanging off.

Her tail was very uncomfortable being wrapped around her waist, but she soon got used to it and sighed happily, almost looking as normal as she thought most girls looked. All she needed now was the hat they had got for her, too.

When she put it on, it didn't seem right, but soon after fixing her hair the way she wanted it, the hat looked perfect for her. Her shoes were a bit uncomfortable because she had never really worn any, but she would just have to get used to the brown sandals if she ever wanted to travel with Edward and Alphonse.

Finally, after about 10 minutes, she came out of the bathroom and twirled in front of them.

"How do I look?" she asked, spinning again and making the dress puff up a bit more than usual.

"Uh," Alphonse stammered, putting his hand on the back of his helmet, "you look really pretty, Cameron."

Cam smiled at him, looking as happy as ever now that she heard that. "Thank you, Alphonse! That was very nice of you!"

Edward just stood there with a blush on his face as he muttered, "You look nice. Can we get going now? Our train leaves in an hour."

Cameron still looked happy at what Edward had said. It was as much of a compliment as she was going to get, she thought, so she had to be proud of it.

And anyway, Cameron was excited to see what the city looked like. After all, she had never been outside before.

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**Please review! I love it when you do! **

**CHARACTER PROFILE: Cameron is a tuxedo cat chimera, even if she doesn't know it. She's relatively skinny only because she if very picky on what she eats. Her favorite brother is Alphonse because he's sweet and nice. She likes Edward only because she thinks he's the leader of what she calls their little "pack". Cameron's tail is all black while her ears are black with white tips. Her hair is white and stick straight, going all the way down to her lower back. She has bangs, but only because she cut them herself while in the bathroom. Her bangs are the short kind that run along her forehead, entirely covering it. Her age is 14 and she is a little bit shorter than Edward, due to the fact that she shrunk in the transmutation. **


	3. Train Rides

**Sorry for the long wait! Good news is, I'm not dead! Other good news is that school in almost starting for me (8****th**** grade and I'm freaking out here!) and that means that I will be updating more frequently. So look forward to more chapters next month! **

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Outside was nice and bright. The morning was fresh and crisp with a slight breeze blowing her dress. Cameron expected it to be nice outside, but this was better than she had even imagined! The grass was softer than what she though, the air cleaner that she had ever breathed, and the sun brighter than any lamp she had ever been under. It was all so exquisite and it felt . . . right; right to be out here and right to be free.

Right at the moment, Alphonse and Edward were walking far ahead of her to the train station as she looked around at all the shops in amazement. Some shops – mostly the butcher shops and pet stores – caught her attention. Sometimes when they passed an alleyway, she could hear the faint sounds of her fellow kind scurrying around and having fun in the dark, damp places. Sometimes, they would come scurrying out to meet her and rub up against her legs or sniff her and playfully run away to see if she would follow. Most times she had to resist the urge to, for Alphonse and Edward were now far ahead of her and almost to the train station while she was left way behind.

Finally catching up to them – and trying to ignore all the distractions along the way – she had noticed three small pieces of paper in Edward's hands, holding one out to Alphonse and now extending the third one to her.

"What's this?" she asked, coming forward to take it and then hesitantly sniff it. She was curious about how a slip of paper could help them travel to wherever they needed to go.

"A train ticket," Alphonse answered for her. "It's like a pass to help you get on the train and take you to where you need to go."

Cam's face brightened at that as she smiled widely, showing her sharp teeth. "That's amazing! I didn't know a piece of paper could be so helpful!" she exclaimed, looking at the ticket in wonder. "So where are we headed?"

"East," Edward explained, "to report back to my boss, the Bastard Colonel. And if he has anymore leads for me, then we'll take them and head wherever we need to go."

"Yay," Cameron chirped happily, "more sightseeing!"

Alphonse laughed at her antics as they all boarded the train.

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The train ride was nice, and Cameron had a beautiful view of everything from where she sat next to the window. Cameron never knew that world could be to green and blue and beautiful. And it finally felt great to breathe in fresh air.

For a while, it was so hard to keep her tail under control and out of sight for the public to see. After toying with her belt and finally keeping her tail stable under her dress, she sighed happily and merrily continued gazing out the window at the passing sights.

Cameron hummed quietly as she looked at the scenery. She was now braiding her hair intricately, tying it in loops and curling it around her fingers, but she always let it fall back again. She had spent her long years in a small, cramped cell perfecting her hair braiding technique, figuring out different styles for her hair to be put into.

For a second, she was silent and contemplative before she let go of her current braid that was wrapped in a spiral on her head and turned to Alphonse in curiosity. He was looking at his brother's sleeping form: Edward with his stomach sticking out slightly. If Alphonse had a face, it would be one of disappointment.

Cameron grinned evilly for a second before putting on her best innocent kitten act, making her eyes look big with a small smile on her face. "Oh, Alphonse," she practically sang in happiness.

Alphonse looked startled for a second before devoting his attention to her, her kitten face still on. "What is it, Cameron?" he asked, and if looks could affect people physically, he would have melted at the sight of her big round eyes and cute looking face.

"Let's go exploring!" she exclaimed loudly. "And on the way, let's get food! I'm hungry! I want to see what train food is like, especially the meet. Oh! And maybe we could play tag and stuff! Or you could teach me how to play cards! I wanna have some fun on this train ride!"

Alphonse would have said, "No, it's too dangerous and we could get in trouble multiple ways," but he couldn't, because Cameron looked so cute with her face looking like a kittens and he couldn't resist kittens, and if her ears would out, it would have completed the act. So instead of saying what he wanted to say, he said, "Alright, but not the tag part. I will teach you how to play cards though."

And so it went with a game of cards and Cameron happily munching on some chicken – bone and all. She was now playing her 10th round of cards with Alphonse and chewing on the bones, trying to get the marrow out of them – because she claimed that was the best part.

Alphonse was happy because for once in his entire card playing life, he had won a ton of games. Cameron was catching on pretty quick though, so he was now trying his hardest to beat her.

That was, until Edward had woken up and then neither of them won at all, the card mater that Ed was. But to Cameron, the game was still fun and she happily took everything in stride. But all good times had to end and soon they were at the station and walking down the road toward the Eastern HQ to meet this so called "Colonel Bastard" Cameron had heard so little about. She figured that that wasn't his real name at all, seeing how stubborn Edward was and how meanly he talked of his boss.

But to Cameron, she didn't care. She'd be polite and call him "Mr. Bastard" if that would get her on his good side. The "colonel" part would have to be dropped because she didn't know if that was actually his title like Edward had said. But she was excited nonetheless to meet Edward and Alphonse's master and ask him about how she had gotten the way she was today.

All would be well in the end. Or so Cameron thought because as soon as they were in front of the big office doors, a gunshot could be heard from within, and Cameron immediately got scared.

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**AHHHH! I STILL NEED TO FINISH MY SUMMER READING! THIS IS NOT GOOD! I've holed myself up in my room reading Manga and fanfiction this whole summer, not reading real books or writing anything! I have, though, jotted down some stories.**

**Trixie: More like half-stories that you never finish. **

**Well, Trix, they will be finished, and as much as I love you as my muse, you need to be less quiet and only come out when you have a story idea for me! **

**Trixie: Harrumph. **

**Anyway, please review and tell me what you think! I missed you guys so much! My Carpal Tunnel is still here, but I write with the pain only for you guys! **

**~HV Twitchy **


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